Ukraine Miners Don Camouflage as East Revolt Mimics West

[Purveyor]

By Volodymyr Verbyany Apr 11, 2014 8:07 AM ET

If they can do it in Kiev, we can do it in Donetsk.

That’s what Roman Romanenko says as he organizes the occupation of this eastern Ukrainian city’s seat of government, which he and hundreds like him seized to protest Kiev’s new leadership. Clad in fatigues and a blue beret, the 35-year-old former paratrooper quit his coal-mining job to come here.

“My miner’s soul told me to be here,” said Romanenko. “Those people in Kiev spat on us. They think Ukraine is only western Ukraine and are ruling as they please.”

Romanenko and his fellow activists, entrenched in the building where ousted President Viktor Yanukovych once ruled as governor, are demanding a vote on greater autonomy, joining similar movements in other heavily Russian-speaking cities in the country’s east. Outside is a scene reminiscent of Kiev’s Independence Square, or Maidan, before rallies for closer ties with Europe turned deadly in February, leading to Yanukovych’s downfall and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-10/ukraine-miners-don-camouflage-as-donetsk-uprising-mimics-maidan.html

[The Magistrate]

1. Again, Sir, Polling Data In The Article Is Interesting

'That’s a view shared by most people in the Donetsk region, according the local Institute of Social Research and Political Analyses. Sixty-six percent of the region’s population wants Ukraine to remain united, the research group said, citing a poll of 500 people conducted March 26-29. The results have a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.'